On Tuesday night, Virginia Democrat and Bonaventure alumna, Danica Roem, ’06, made national news when she became the first openly transgender person elected and seated to a United States state legislature position.
Roem, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications from the Jandoli School of Communication, was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. She will serve in the 13th District.
In addition to being the first transgender person elected to state legislative office, Roem is also the first Democrat to win the open 13th district in 25 years.
All 100 house seats were up for election this Tuesday. Ballotpedia, a widely circulated online encyclopedia of American politics, emphasized the Virginia House of Delegates election as a “race of watch” due to the extensive media attention it has received.
According to preliminary results, incumbent Del. Bob Marshall was defeated by nearly nine percentage points. Marshall, who has referred to himself as Virginia’s “biggest homophobe,” refused to refer to Roem by female pronouns and refused to debate.
In early 2017, Marshall introduced HB 1612, The Physical Privacy Act. The act would have required that government buildings maintain separate bathrooms for men and women, and required that individuals must use the bathroom designated for his or her biological sex assigned at birth.
Otherwise known as the “bathroom bill,” the proposal also would require school principals to inform the parents of a child if the child did not choose to identify with his or her gender assigned at birth. The bill was killed in subcommittee on Jan. 19.
Liam McGurl, now an integrated marketing communications graduate student, had the chance to meet Roem as part of his undergraduate Agency Synapse course last spring. He and a group of students in the class helped develop a social media campaign for the then candidate, who visited campus to listen to their pitch.
“From the moment she entered the room, she inspired every single person present,” McGurl said. “Never did she undermine Marshall, as easy as that might be. She stayed poised and focused on a mission bigger than sharing political talking points. She opened up to us, she encouraged a classroom-wide conversation, urging us all to share our biggest fears, then spinning them as our biggest strengths.”
Prior to the election, Roem spoke with The Bona Venture on her intentions to provide hope through her victory—particularly against a delegate who had attempted to dismantle LGBTQ+ protection.
“By even getting into the race, what I hope I am able to do on a more national level, is [I hope] they can see my candidacy and think to themselves that, ‘I can succeed because of who I am, not despite who I am,’’ she said last January.
McGurl said Roem’s victory resonated on a personal level, as he looked back on his undergraduate years at Bonaventure.
“Being content with myself, my very being, has been a constant struggle,” he said. “Bonaventure changed that dynamic for me. This campus, people like Danica, that whole Bona bubble have showed me nothing is more valuable than trusting your own voice, believing in your own potential. Danica is living, breathing proof of what happens when you accept your truth. I hope other underclassmen can learn from that example and embrace their’s.” Some students think that Roem’s victory has already been cause for motivation on campus.
“It means that there is hope for equality, it may waiver sometimes, but when such a momentous occasion like this happens, it makes me so happy,” said SPECTRUM president Carolyn Haswell, junior theatre major. “I’m so glad I could see history in the making.”
Bryce Spadafora, senior journalism major and SPECTRUM vice president, believes that Roem’s upbeat campaign and down-to-earth relationship with her constituents led to success.
“Danica won because she genuinely cares for her constituents,” he said. “She proves that LGBTQ+ individuals are more than just our identities. We’re politicians, journalists, rock-and-rollers and a million other things too.”
